


Forget Your Earth

by Veilrony



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: AU, Canon Divergent, Lots of OC characters, Multi, One-Sided Attraction, The pearlrose is sorta onesided?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-16
Updated: 2017-01-25
Packaged: 2018-05-14 06:09:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5732239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Veilrony/pseuds/Veilrony
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU Where Rose decides not to start a rebellion over Earth. 5000 years later, she takes a crew to live on the planet for a small time, due to stressing and possibly dangerous conditions on Homeworld. Meanwhile, a young human named Greg is tasked to serve her during her stay.<br/>(Stevenbomb 4 destroyed my headcanons, but whatever.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

Pearl knew she shouldn’t have been eavesdropping. She clasped her hands against the metal door, her ears seemingly glued to it.

She exhaled quietly, closing her eyes. She knew how much Rose cared about the planet and its inhabitants, though she couldn’t see why. She’d been with her for a thousand years, and this was the first time she’d seen Rose react like this. 

There were lots of planets with functioning kindergartens on them that once had other life forms on it. What was so different on Earth?

“Pink, we need to look at this rationally. The Geode System —”

“Empty words,” Rose said. “We can send a red-eye into them. You know I’m the only Gem with light cannons.”

“That doesn’t matter!” Blue Diamond shouted, and Pearl imagined her form literally flying up from her seat. “You know that Cinnabar’s been developing weapons!”

“I have to say I’m on Pink’s side here, Lazuli… Cinnabar is under an agreement,” Yellow Diamond said.

“Look how far that’s gotten us,” Blue huffed. “Pink, look at it like this. Cinnabar’s going to use those weapons. Not might. Will. We need to destroy the system, and Quartzes are the only way to do it.”

There was a silence, Pearl hearing only Rose’s soft, exasperated sigh. She twisted her hair, waiting for what was going to happen next. Rose was going to win. She’d throw up an argument that win her the debate, and her irrational love for the Crystal system would be understood, and agreed on. She just waited.

It felt like moments before it wasn’t Rose, the Pink Diamond, but White Diamond, the leader of Homeworld. “I think that Blue is right. We should take Cinnabar’s threats as real.

It would be… almost traitorous not to,” White diamond continued.

Pearl shuddered, her teeth baring. They couldn’t be insinuating…

Silence again. Pearl’s shoulders tensed until she could have sworn she was reeling into them. They could take away her diamond title. Would she… would she risk it?

“Fine then,” Rose said. “I was just hoping we could spare such a… vibrant planet…”

“In times like these, Pink Diamond, we need all the gems we can get.” There was a pause, before White snapped, “No, Yellow, stuffing shattered gems into Charmelan’s core to destroy the planet is costly and too experimental.” She paused again. “No.”

Pearl inched away from the door. The meeting would end at any minute. She slowly walked down the corridor until she was at a short distance from the door. She started walking towards the door to make it look like she was just getting around to it. A vapid, average pearl looking for her mistress.

She barely made out the words, “Meeting dismissed,” and started giving her stride a dancing look to it. She glanced around, trying to loosen her shoulders. She put a smile on her face and threw the lock of hair she had been twirling behind her ears. She almost felt like she could’ve been a perfect Pearl.

The door swung open, and Pearl stood calmly and politely as three gems filed out. First, Yellow diamond, a Titanite with two forward-aimed points sticking out of the back of her head. Her cat-like eyes glanced over Pearl once before sniffing with disinterest. Pearl wilted only a bit. Next was Blue Diamond, one of the few Lapis Lazuli gems there really were. She had to look up to see Pearl, and lingered a few moments. Pearl noticed the sheet of water swirling on her back, ready to become wings at any given moment. She smiled more forcefully. “Is Pink Diamond coming out yet?” she asked, averting her gaze from the Diamond.

Lapis gave a blink and flicked her head behind her before stalking off in the opposite direction of Yellow.

Rose walked through the doorway slowly, giving a forlorn glance behind the door. “They wouldn’t understand,” she said quietly before turning to Pearl.

Pearl stood up taller and smiled hard enough she felt that her cheeks were going to fall off. “So,” she said slowly, “Did the meeting go well?” She swayed her hips, her long, veil-like skirt falling along with her.

Rose gave a smile, a real one. Pearl couldn’t help but notice her eyes twinkle like they had stars in them. She laughed and patted Pearl’s shoulder like she would a friend. Pearl brightened a bit. “Not really,” she said. “I guess you would know that.”

Pearl jumped back, surprised. Rose’s smile faltered. “I’m serious, Pearl. This could get you harvested, or worse.”

Pearl’s heart sank to her stomach at the thought of it, and she felt her smile loosen. 

“I would never do that to you, but you have to be careful,” she said and then sighed. “Just… don’t do it again, okay? I’ve got some arrangements to make. For the kindergartens…” She started walking off, her large hand leaving Pearl’s shoulder. She turned around, her dress swinging with her. “Meet me in our quarters.” She gave a smile and turned away to continue walking in the direction Lapis had went in.

Pearl turned to see that nobody was around before sighing and loosening her shoulders and face. She narrowed her eyes a bit. There. She then leaned against the wall, and imagined what sort of hell her life could’ve been if Rose had rebelled any further.


	2. Chapter 1

“Rose Quartz, the Pink Diamond,” Rose whispered to herself as she eyed her reflection in a mirror. “The new leader of Homeworld,” she continued, her voice faltering at the final word. She couldn’t imagine how White Diamond could’ve been shattered. She was never away from her quarters as of late. Nobody could figure out who did it. It certainly couldn’t have been the gems in the Geode system’s rebellions. The synthetically made Quartzes had proven to be more effective than whatever Charmelan’s defenses were.

Rose felt a bit of relief at that. It was only when the first of the Quartzes emerged that Cinnabar started using her weapons. The new Gems took care of that all too easily.  
And now, the Earth was back to normal. She couldn’t remember how she reacted, but Blue was always throwing playful jokes at how she might as well have been an angry Tiger’s Eye.

Speaking of which… Where was that Gem? She got up from her bed and brushed her dress down. She leaned back, stretching to the side. Pearl was no-where to be seen. Probably in her quarters. Probably revelling in the fact that she even got her own room.

She pressed her left hand to the door, making it slide open. She stepped through it and pressed her hand once more on a pad outside of it. It closed again, pneumatics sealing the passage. She sighed and started walking. Windows passed by, showing off the Crystal System. She turned towards the control room. With a glance behind her, she noticed the ancient imprints in the ship’s carbonite floor, like they’d been walked on for a thousand years.

When she got to the control room, there were two gems, but not the ones she was expecting. Pearl and the Peridot she got to pilot her ship were heatedly debating over… something.

“Well if you ask me, I think you should keep your hands off the controls — Hey!” the Peridot shouted, using her robotic limbs to slap Pearl’s hands out of the way.

“You haven’t got them calibrated. Look. The entire ship is tilting to the right. You’ll never pull this thing to the System in time. At best, you’ll crash into Mars.” Pearl raised her brows and glared down at the green gem.

“What do you know?” she growled before turning to Rose. “Oh! Pink Diamond!” She bent her knees into a rushed curtsy. “Your Pearl is meddling with the controls.”

Rose cast a glance at Pearl. Impressive, she was. She hid her smile and put on a false stare. “Pearl. To your quarters.”

Pearl nodded, pulling her hair back. She cast a glare back at the Peridot before glising down the floor. Rose ruffled the hair on her head before sending ehr on her way. 

“Have you ever thought of that Pearl as… defective?” the deceptively tall gem said.

Rose stiffened. “Why would you ask?”

“She’s overzealous, even for a Pearl,” she said, reaching blindly for a tool at her left.

Rose bit her bottom lip, thinking of Pearl. “She might just be more intelligent from age. Six thousand years is a long time to have one.”

“Have you ever thought of having her harvested?” the gem asked, pulling her visor down as she grabbed the tool. “To get a better one?”

Rose’s eyes widened, but she straightened her face immediately. “Where’s Tiger’s Eye?” she asked, glancing around the control room.

“In her quarters,” the Peridot said, putting her hands into the controls. Lines of code reflected in her eyes. “I can’t exactly stop a massive Quartz from stalking off like well, a Quartz.”

Rose blinked. Of course she couldn’t. Peridots probably couldn’t stop a brand-new Sapphire. Not that she’d say it in front of the Sapphire on the crew.  
Rose glared, then turned around and left. She stalked down the halls, headed back the way she came. She passed the door to her room without even giving it a second glance.

There Pearl was, giving away that she was defective. She was lucky that it was just a Peridot that noticed. If one of her fellow diamonds caught wind, then Pearl would be gone for good.

She stepped into a short corridor with two rooms on each side. It didn’t end in a dead end, but in a room with a fireplace and comfortable enough cushions on the floor. She glanced in there before seeing the escort gem. “Tiger’s Eye,” Rose said coldly. The gem turned around, her figure seemingly glowing in front of the firelight.

“Yes, Pink Diamond?” Her voice was smooth, for a Quartz at least. “Is something wrong?”

Rose narrowed her eyes and clenched her fists. How could she be so oblivious? “You know exactly what’s wrong. You’re here, lounging about, while your crewmate is left both piloting and doing mantenance?”

She glanced down at her feet then at Rose’s face. “I—”

“Just go, before I have you harvested.” Rose waited for Tiger’s Eye to pass by before following her out. She knocked on Pearl’s door, waiting for it to open.  
It took a few minutes before she showed up, her clothes in perfect order. “Pink Diamond,” she said. “Come in!”

The door closed, and Pearl gave a sigh. “Thank the stars it’s only you,” she said, sitting down on a cushion. Her legs splayed out and she rested her arms on the pillow. “I thought it’d be that awful Peridot. She’s so…” She clenched her hand into a fist. “Sorry, Rose.”

“No, it’s alright,” Rose said, sitting down beside her. “But you need to be more careful. That Peridot thinks you’re defective.” When she saw Pearl’s shoulders tighten, Rose grinned and leaned in next to her. “I told her that you’re just getting smart with age.”

Pearl sighed and leaned back on the cushion. “I guess I should…”

Rose nodded. “It’s alright. This is Earth we’re headed to, not Homeworld. There aren’t many civilized Gems on the colony. That’s why the others are sending me this way. So I can lead securely.”

Pearl heaved a sigh. “They probably still have Pearls on Earth. I’ll still have to be… that.”

“They’ve got humans on Earth, Pearl. Remember the creatures I actually wanted to lose my title over?” She laughed, and she saw Pearl crack a faint smile.

“Yeah,” she said wistfully.

“And on Earth, even the Pearls can have humans.” Rose didn’t know this, but she wanted to alleviate at least some of Pearl’s anxiety.

At that, Pearl sat up. She blinked and then turned to Rose. “I… don’t know how to…”

Rose laughed. “Act like that around other Gems. They’d never think you’re above average.”

“No, really.”

Rose stared, her cheeks curling upwards. She planted a kiss on Pearl’s gem. “Well, you have to feed them, water them, and let them grow.”

“Like one of your plants, huh?” Pearl said, rubbing the gem on her forehead tenderly.

“Exactly like that.”

Pearl laughed nervously. “It’s probably not that simple.”

“Oh, but it is.” Rose stood up and grabbed Pearl’s hand. Pearl got to her feet and stared into Rose’s eyes. Rose stared back, her eyes shining. “If you can take care of that Peridot back there, then I’m sure a human isn’t a hassle.”

She backed away, hand still extended. “Come with me, Pearl. And try being yourself as we go out.”

“But the other gems…”

“The Sapphire’s not anywhere around here and the others are all in the control room.” She grabbed Pearl’s hand and pulled her closer. “Come on, let’s try it.”

Pearl flushed, her cheeks turning blue. “Alright.” She strode down the halls, faster than Rose. She glanced about the halls, her eyes flickering about. Rose watched her glance up and down at the slits between metal, how she paused and narrowed her eyes.

“They could certainly find something to patch up these cracks,” she whispered. She stood up on her toes, tracing her fingers along a crack in the ceiling. “The vacuum of space can only make them bigger. Then the ship’ll get destroyed…”

Rose found herself getting more and more amused by Pearl’s investigations. At least, until she caught Pearl giving a backwards glance at her, like she was checking to see if Rose was happy with the way she was acting. Rose’s heart sunk a bit, her smile fading.

“Pearl, look,” she said, stopping at a window on the outer side of the hall. Earth was coming towards them at a rapid pace. “Earth’s a safe place, a haven perhaps. You’ll be safe,

I’ll be safe, and I wouldn’t let them harvest you, even if you are defective. Just relax.”

Pearl stared at Rose, giving an owlish blink. She nodded and stared down at her feet. “I understand…” She looked around, and her shoulders loosened. Still, she said, “Pink Diamond.”

Rose inched closer to Pearl. “We’ll be alright. Just you wait.” She paused a second. “Just you wait.”


	3. Chapter 2

Greg woke up immediately when he felt a pair of hands on his back. He swung around, ready to land a punch at the intruder. His hand was grabbed and held steady.

“Calm down, Greg. It’s just me.” A familiar face greeted him. Marty. He smiled upon seeing his extremely pale features.

Greg felt a weight lift off his chest and he heaved a sigh. “I thought you were Heliotrope, or some other Gem,” he said.

Marty sat down on the bed next to Greg. “About that…”

Greg stiffened. “What do you mean, about that? I’m not in trouble, am I?”

“Relax, Universe,” Marty said, slapping him on the back. “She says that there’s something she needs you to do.” He got up and helped Greg to his feet. “And if I were you, start hippity hoppitting you and your little lion’s mane over there as fast as you can,” he said.

Greg narrowed his eyes at Marty. “You don’t need to make hair jokes right now, do you?” he said dryly, but was already reaching for a jumpsuit hanging on a rack. He slipped the brown garment on effortlessly. “And where is she?” Greg asked.

“In her office. God knows she never leaves it.” Marty slapped Greg on the back. “Now head out!”  
Greg nodded, feeling his chest tighten. He sighed and turned back to Marty. To relieve some of his thoughts, he gave a small salute to Marty before an awkward, terrified laugh.

Marty raised his brows quickly to motion that he really should be going. Marty was right, of course. It never paid to anger a Gem, and Heliotrope was no exception.

He ran through a cafeteria, where more humans, those who’d been working at ports and stations all night, ate in silence. Marty’s son, streaked with dirt, poked at his daily rations. His mother watched the other end of the cafeteria blankly, paying no attention to the child. Greg stared for a second before shaking his head and keeping on walking.

Still, he was barely three. He shouldn’t have been working at this age.

Heliotrope’s office came into view quickly and Greg stopped a few feet before the frame. He sighed and glanced at the bright diamond insignia casting a light from the door’s centre.

He pulled a few strands of his dark hair behind his head and knocked. “Come in,” was the response after a few seconds.

Greg stood up tall and opened the door slowly. He closed it and stared at the gem in front of him. She had dark green skin with bright red patches up and down her arms. Greg knew he was tall, at least for a human, but could never get used to the fact Heliotrope was nearly nine feet tall. It showed, as she had to hunch her back over her desk. It made her look still taller.

“You wanted to see me?” Greg asked, voice strained.

“You have an assignment,” she said, raising a brow. “I’m sure one of your… friends… has told you this.” Her face strained at the word friends, like she never said it before.

Figured. “An important Gem is coming to Earth in about an hour.” Greg cringed before composing himself. He struggled to keep still. The more important a gem was on Homeworld, the colder and more abusive they got. The most important

Gem Greg ever had to serve was an Emerald technician, and even then she used him like a ragdoll.

“She’ll be under a lot of stress, due to recent events.” She made a diamond signal with her fingers and put them on her chest. She sighed. “And you seem to be the most of a pushover. You’ll be taking care of her for her stay.”

“What port is she coming in from?”

“Cygnus. Now…” She hunched over and pushed her chair back to look into her drawers. She pulled out two garments and put them on the desk so Greg could inspect him. “She’s going to pay a good sum for her stay, so it’s my duty to provide presentable slaves.” It was a black shirt and pants, with diamonds on the shoulders. Tiny stripes shimmered over the chest area in a tone a small bit lighter than the shirt. “Go back to your bunker and put this on. I’ll send my Pearl in fifteen minutes. Understood?”

Greg nodded, pursing his lips. “Got it.”

***

The Pearl was there early, waiting in the doorway. And smiling. The gem on her chest was brightly polished. She had a jumpsuit like Greg’s normal outfit. It was simple, only decorated with a yellow diamond and frills on her hips. “Gregory, it is?” she asked.

“Yeah, it’s me,” he said. “You’re Heliotrope’s Pearl, I guess.”

“Yep! She asked me to come for you. Walk quickly now, your new mistress might not be too happy being kept waiting,” she said sprightly, turning around and starting her walk.

Greg loathed that Pearls were a slave race among gems, vapid and brainless as they were. What he loathed more was that humans were below even them.

“I’m surprised she only got you, you know. Didgya know that she can command ten — no — ten thousand humans at once?” She stopped, definitely remembering she was talking to one of the humans and instead decided to talk about something else about Heliotrope.

“She’s the most powerful Quartz I’ve ever met. Might be even more powerful than whoever’s taking you in for the next little while.” She kept talking on and on about Heliotrope, Greg starting to tune out her stupid babbling.

“Here we are,” she said, stopping at the door to the outside. “Now remember, when you get there, you’ll be—”

“Yes, yes, I know. Bathed and readied,” Greg interrupted. The Pearl stepped back and blinked at his rudeness, but recomposed herself and put her grin back on. He grinned internally. Pearls didn’t have a weapon they could summon, and obviously no training with them. Not to mention nobody would ever listen to them. Even if he was below her, she had no way of saying whether or not Greg acted just that bit more. He straightened his posture, finding himself a few inches taller than Pearl. “Now keep walking,” he said. “We wouldn’t want to keep her waiting.” Sarcasm dripping off his voice, he decided to walk a bit faster.

They boarded a hovercraft, Heliotrope’s Pearl taking the driver’s seat and Greg climbing in the seat behind her. As soon as Greg closed the door, the Pearl accelerated the vehicle immediately. Greg gripped the seats so he didn’t fall off. “Slow… down…” he said, gritting his teeth. He looked back at Heliotrope’s base, flying away at whatever speed the hover was going. The Pearl didn’t respond. Greg heaved a sigh and decided just to hold on for dear life.

“You’ve never been in a hover before, have you?” she asked, nearly having to shout over the whir of the fans.

Greg flushed. “Of course I have!”

“You don’t act like it!”

Greg bit his cheek and continued grabbing onto the cushions. His knuckles were white and were already starting to ache. His hair flew out behind him, and Greg had to joke to himself so his nerves didn’t make him nauseous. Twenty five years old was an alright age, he reasoned. Humans typically lived ‘till they were thirty. Forty if they were lucky. He gave a hysterical laugh, ducking as a rock flew at the hover’s windshield. Yeah. Twenty five was a good age.

The hover slowed down, the wind falling away from Greg’s face. The Pearl hit the brakes, sending Greg forward. He turned to the side so his ribs only hit the seat in front of him.

He swore to himself and leaned back. His hair itched his face.

“That wasn’t an attack, was it?” This was the first time Greg had ever heard an edge to her voice, and Greg shrunk in his hair. 

“Ha!” he said nervously. He looked for a weapon, just in case that she was ready to attack. “You just stopped, really suddenly.” He pulled his hair out of his face, realizing it was screwing with his observation. 

He looked up, but stopped at the realization of where he was. He had no idea what the Cygnus Port was before, but Greg never suspected it was an abandoned wreck. In the

centre of a massive plains, there it was. It was tiny. It seemed that only one of the docking inlets was actually working. And even then, it looked like it was being rebuilt. At least five Peridots walked upside down over it, flickering lights and small robonoids to get it working.

Greg looked higher, expecting a tower, like all the other ports had. This one had no such thing, but Greg noticed a single ship circling above it. Just a blue dot in the sky, Greg had to squint to stare up at it. It was shaped like and arrowhead.

“Looks like they’re ready to come down any minute now.” The green lights stopped flickering and robonoids fell to the ground. The Peridots slid down the port and fluttered to the ground. One pointed her arm into the air and shot a flare.

“Oh my stars!” Heliotrope’s Pearl said. “Let’s get ready for her landing!” The hover stopped its engines, lowering into grass that went up to Greg’s chest. She hopped out, already starting to glide down. Greg was forced to follow. It occurred to him that he could just turn elsewhere, running out and away. He looked at the back of the Pearl’s head and her long, straight hair.

But what could he do? There wouldn’t be any food around, and other gems would know exactly how to find a runaway human. He heaved a sigh, his side starting to hurt, and slowed down.

The Cygnus station got close, and Greg noticed the Pearl stopping. He skidded to a halt.

“She’s a bit early,” the Pearl mused. “Must’ve been cruising. Stars know why, though…”

The ship turned downwards by a few degrees. The bright blue lights shining from the bottom of it became more prevalent before completely blacking out. Whirs cut through the wind, sending down blasts of air. The hovercraft fell hundreds of feet before blue lights kicked back on. The hover slowly fell back onto invisible struts. Greg saw the ship was silver, decked in pink stripes. It pitched again, evening itself out.

Greg glanced back at the Pearl. She turned back, making barely audible, giggly, wheezy noises. “Yeesh,” he muttered under his breath.

The yellow grass around him started to blow with the wind. It wasn’t cold, like when the bunker got drafty, but the air was actually heating up. A lot. Greg started to walk backwards to get away from the heat. The ground started kicking up dust. Greg was forced to shield his eyes, squinting them shut. It still didn’t stop the pinpricks of pain that happened every time a grain of dirt hit his face.

He held his breath, but realized that he didn’t need to any more. Greg opened his eyes to see the hover. Its door was closed, but the engines were finally off. The Pearl was hopping up and down excitedly, making the strange giggles. Greg felt the pit of dread in his stomach once more. He’d forgot about it since him and the Pearl took a hover ride.

Then the hatch began to open. The Pearl composed herself, her ever-present grin now reaching to her eyebrows. Greg saw pneumatics release foggy air, and five silhouettes showed through it.

“Please,” the Pearl whispered. “Allow me to introduce you to Pink Diamond.” She brushed the ruffles on her waistline. Greg felt the pit in his stomach turn to a black hole. Oh god. No. 

The silhouette in the centre stepped out to reveal a giant woman in a massive pink gown. “The leader of Homeworld.”


	4. Chapter 3:

Well. This was… underwhelming. Pearl followed Rose out of the smoke, keeping her head high. The first thing she realized was how empty this planet was. She could see for miles without even a building’s silhouette visible. She glanced at Rose’s face to see if she was thinking the same, but noticed that she wasn’t looking around her. She was looking at two forms. A human and a Pearl. The human was taller than the other Pearl, and had dark hair that fell down past his waist. The Pearl was pale like herself, but had a black shirtless suit, with only a ruffle at the waist. Her hair was longer than Pearl’s, reaching down to her shoulders. The Pearl was struggling to stand still, her feet tapping and hopping about.  
  
This was more underwhelming than she’d thought.   
  
“Rose, this can’t be the right planet,” she whispered, standing on tiptoes to meet Rose’s ear.  
  
Rose shook her head. “Nope. Most definitely the right planet,” she whispered back. Defeated, she got down and watched Tiger’s Eye follow beside her.  
  
“This is it?” she said. “A human and a Pearl?”  
  
The human seemed not to notice any of it. “Well, welcome to Earth!” he said. He flashed a grin, like he might as well have been a Pearl. He just looked nervous, like Pearl felt every time she spoke in front of another Gem.  
  
Rose smiled. “Thank you, human.”  
  
“I’ve never seen such a primitive place,” the Peridot said from the other side of the door. “Nothing in sight.”  
  
“Well, where are you staying?” the other Pearl asked with a jump.  
  
“Seaglass Estate,” Rose replied promptly.  
  
“Well, good to know,” she said. “I’ll take you there, and you’ll be left with Gregory, here.” She waved an arm to beckon them to a hover. It seemed small, like she wasn’t expecting to transport five gems. The back end then extended until a new row of seats showed up. Pearl raised her brow, impressed. Guess she’d been wrong.   
  
“Er, it’s Greg,” the human muttered as he got into the back of the hover. He inched to the side until he was at the back end of it. Rose got in first, climbing in the middle row. Before Pearl could get beside Rose, the Sapphire took her chance to hop in beside her. And Pearl was not planning on freezing today.  
  
Pearl pursed her lips in silent irritation, getting in beside the human. He glanced at her before scooting away until he hit the hover’s left door.   
  
Maybe it was for the better, Pearl realized, as the Tiger’s eye hopped in. She took up most of the vehicle’s right side, allowing Pearl and “Greg” a foot between the both of them to move. She pursed her lips, trying not to look at the human, or the other Pearl driving.   
  
The Peridot was last, hopping in beside the Sapphire. Pearl saw a bit of frost already crawl up her limb enhancers.  
  
The hover started, lifting into the air quickly. It was louder than the hovers on Homeworld. She noticed the seats vibrating on with the copters beneath her.  
  
She grasped for something to keep her steady as the Pearl rocketed off. She didn’t dare move or lean back in case a blast of wind from the speed sent her flying and got her poofed, or shattered.  
  
She turned her head slowly, her hair flying in her face. The grass field that the crew was just in was already fading away to… more nothingness. The landscape got even more empty as the grass faded away to sand. They sped up a steep hill and Pearl forced a grip on the seat in front of her so she didn’t fall. The hover halted at the hill with a swerve, sending Pearl flying into Tiger’s Eye. She glared down at her and Pearl shrunk in her shoulders.  
  
“We’re here already?” Pearl asked, peeling her head away from the Quartz’s biceps.  
  
The human stared at her, eyes raised.  
  
The other Pearl nodded. “Yeah, at full speed we can get here pretty fast.”  
  
Rose scratched at her hair. “I could tell,” she said wearily.  
  
“Well, at the bottom of this hill is Seaglass Estate.” The other Pearl hopped out and opened the doors on the opposite side. The Peridot climbed out first, followed by the Sapphire. Pearl expected Rose to be next, but she just stood and waited. She nodded at the other Pearl to open the doors, and it happened quickly.  
  
The Tiger’s Eye hopped out quickly, landing with a thud. She got off of her knees and glared at Pearl. She smiled nervously and hopped off the craft. She landed on her toes and turned around, waiting for the human.  
  
Rose was apparently waiting for the other Gems, as she slid out from the door and floated to the ground.  
  
The human scooted across the seats and jumped out of the van. He landed, but fell over onto his hands. He glanced up and then right back down. He got onto his knees and brushed the sand off of it. He glanced at the Tiger’s Eye, clenching her fist while watching him, and turned away.  
  
The Pearl curtsied at Rose and stepped to the front of the group. Rose stood beside her, looking straight down the hill.  
  
At the bottom was a roof for a rectangular house. It was massive, the brown shingles seeming like tiny dots.  
  
“It’s… huge…” Pearl muttered.  
  
“Yep. Now come on down.” The other Pearl hopped down onto a rocky ledge with intricate designs etched into it and reached around. She pressed her hand on the side of the wall and more stone etchings found their way out.  
  
Pearl blinked, forgetting how ancient some tech could be. On Homeworld, buttons like that were phased out centuries ago. Pearl motioned for them to come along, and she waited for the other gems to pass. First there was Rose, then Tiger’s Eye, and then Sapphire. Pearl wanted to hop in front of both the Peridot and the human but waited for them to pass. The line was obviously sorted by rank, and a Pearl was probably below even a human. Even if Rose said she’d be higher than him, she still wanted to be careful. She walked behind the human, watching his clumsy movements, but then stopped when the Pearl stepped in behind  her.  
  
“You’ll get used to them,” the Pearl whispered to her. “That is, you won’t get annoyed by them.”  
  
Pearl blinked in surprise as her shoulders tensed. She’d been too obvious again. She stopped and stared straight ahead. She cast a sideways glance at the Pearl beside her. She seemed not to do anything, but kept walking as though nothing was going on. Pearl felt her cheeks warm, realizing that all Pearls might not be completely bubbly.  
  
It was a nice thought, but maybe the Pearl was just being, well, bubbly. She started walking faster down the steps.  
  
The estate was coming further into view. Plants were lined in rows, and a way was completely paved in stone, in great contrast to the grass all around it. A beach was in front of the house, stretching out as far as she could see.   
  
There was yet another hill up to the door, and Pearl felt a surge of tiredness. She shook her shoulders to sluff it off and followed the line. The Peridot tripped on something, sending her twirling until she caught her balance. She sighed, before glancing at Rose. “Er, sorry, Pink Diamond,” she said, before scuttling just beside the Sapphire.  
  
“It was inevitable,” the Sapphire said, turning away.  
  
They stopped at the door, and as the others stepped into the estate, the second Pearl stopped. “Well, I suppose I’ll leave you here,” she said, grinning. “I hope you’ll have a great time here.”  
  
Rose turned around and curtsied back. “And thanks for bringing us here.” She stood up. “Who’s your commanding officer?”  
  
Pearl glanced a the other, who curtsied back and replied, “Heliotrope. Do you have her communication link?”  
  
Rose nodded. “I do.”  
  
Silence hung in the air, and then the other Pearl nodded. “Well, head on anyways. If you need me or Heliotrope, just call her.”  
  
Rose closed her eyes and held her hand out as a goodbye. Pearl subconsciously did the same.  
  
“Well, everyone head in. Find your rooms,” Rose said finally when they reached an open-spaced room. It branched out into halls and doorways.  
  
Pearl sat down on a couch. She glanced around a bit before Tiger’s Eye voiced her thoughts.  
  
“This place doesn’t look very Gem-like.” She tapped her foot on the floor, covered with fuzzy cloth.  
  
“Well, it isn’t,” Greg said. “It looks like a lot of humans designed it.” He stopped when he glanced at Rose. “I’m sure the Gems had some say in its creation, though.”  
  
“Of course,” she said, then waited a moment. The Peridot and Sapphire had gone down the same hall, one silent and one painfully loud. The Peridot was muttering in her high-pitched voice about how they might as well have been in a cave with the lack of tech was in the house.  
  
Soon, Pearl and the human were the only one left. He grabbed the back of his head and ruffled his hand through his hair. “So…” he said. “Do you know my name?”  
  
Pearl turned to him. “If it wasn’t the only thing you’ve said the entire hover ride, I would’ve forgotten.” She paused. “Greg, is it not?”  
  
He nodded. “That’s about right.” He glanced at Pearl’s gem. “You’re a Pearl?”  
  
Pearl blinked and then narrowed her brows at him. “How many Gems have you seen?”  
  
“I’ve been raised around them,” he said without any emotion. “Whenever someone from Homeworld comes around, I’m always the one serving them personally.” He sighed and sat down, putting his hands on his chin. “I have no idea why, though.”  
  
Pearl found herself smirking as she got up. She stretched her legs out and started to walk across the floor. It was a few minutes until she heard muted shuffling. Thank the stars he was gone. She inspected the walls. They had diamond patterns all over it, but they weren’t in the traditional simplistic style they were on Homeworld. They were instead intricate, with floral patterns painted into them. And the Peridot was right. She couldn’t hear any electricity buzzing or even see a single security cam.  
  
“The lack of security…” she thought out loud, “Is it because this place is so obscure or…?”  
  
She sighed. Nobody was going to answer her of course. Why would they? She touched the ceilings and realized it wasn’t metal. It was a warm, rough substance covering the walls. “Is the metal underneath or…”  
  
She then turned around and saw Greg. He was staring in wide-eyed fascination. “You’re really a strange Pearl, aren’t you?”  
  
She stood up tall and held her hands to her chest. “What? Whaddya-mean?” she asked quickly, and already felt her face flush blue.  
  
“I’ve never seen a Pearl behave like that before,” he said and laughed.  
  
Pearl shook her head and pushed down her transparent skirt. “Like what?”  
  
He shrugged. “Inspecting rooms, checking for security… Hell, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Pearl feel wallpaper.”  
  
“Wallpaper?” So that’s what it was.  
  
“It’s an Earthen thing.”  
  
Pearl raised her shoulders, clenching her hands into fists. This cheeky little…  
  
“Not all Pearls are the same, you know.”  
  
His face turned into a skeptical smirk. “Sure.” He lifted and lowered his eyebrows quickly. “Don’t worry,” he said. “Your secret’s safe with me.” He turned around and found his way down the hall where Rose went. “I’ll see you later.”  
  
Pearl stood in shocked silence, her eyes trained on the door where the human left the hall. Her hands clenched on the veil over her shoulders, twisting it into nervous knots.  
  
She held her breath, waiting to hear some kind of malicious laughter, but it never came. Her shoulders loosened. Maybe she was safe.  
  
Well, at least until the human decided to tell every other Gem and human he knew. She felt a her shoulder-veil give way as a small tear broke through.  
  
Well, maybe she was safe for now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to point out that this writing is ancient as I had most of this written back in January to August 2016. When I run out of old chapters to post, the writing will get more recent.


	5. Chapter 5

Amethyst rolled over, glancing over the edge of the cliff. Sure, this place was abandoned for a while, but since when had a hover come near it? 

Ruby, next to her, tapped her on the shoulder. “Two Quartzes?” she asked. “Are you sure?”  
Amethyst rolled over again, pushing up against her partner. “Of course I am. And the hover stopped here, remember?” She motioned her head in the general direction of where it stopped. There should be a patch of dried grass around there… “And who would need two Quartzes?”

“You’re a Quartz, remember?” Ruby said, nudging her. “And you’re my size.”

Amethyst shrunk in her shoulders and hung her head. A small Quartz. It was the reason she never showed her face around Gem society. At times, she wondered if anyone other than Ruby knew she existed.

Not that she was complaining. An empty kindergarten to live in, all the luxuries that she’d steal… Yeah, that was better than whatever sea spire some Gems could make.

“So, Amethyst,” Ruby said, getting up and dusting her shorts off. “We should get going.”

Amethyst nodded, groaning and pulling herself up off the ground. She pushed sand and grass off of it. “Good idea.”

They started running down the hill, landing on that rock they’d watched one of the Pearls jump on. Two Pearls, Amethyst thought as she pressed her hand on a stone sticking out. What Gem needed two Pearls?

The button glowed white for a moment before stairs slid out from their positions on the cliff. Odd. They seemed a lot louder the first time. This time they were absolutely silent. Ruby booked it down the stairs, kicking down dust.

Amethyst shuffled down beside her, stopping at a window. Blue light peeked from underneath it. What in the…? She peeked into it and saw one of the gems that she thought was a Quartz. It looked like it at first glance, but didn’t have the uniform for it. She wore a ball gown behind those pink ringlets. She then noticed that there were two other faces in the room, holograms that were the source of the blue light.

“Pink Diamond,” one said. She had blue skin and hair. “Before discussion starts, is the room secure?” A Diamond? She felt a grin on her face. This was going to be better than she thought. 

“Wait a moment, let me double-check.” The chair she was on creaked as she stood up and Amethyst ducked. She needed to run. A door opened, the pink-haired Gem paused, then the door creaked shut.

Amethyst leaped up and ran down the stairs, grabbing Ruby by the wrist. “I’ll explain at the bottom,” she hissed.

The window opened and Amethyst’s heart stopped. She turned at the stairs before grabbing Ruby with both arms and jumping. She bit her cheeks not give a cry as she hit the ground and rolled. 

She stood quiet for a moment, waiting for the window to close again. It did, and Amethyst let go of Ruby. She leaped up to the ground, melting some sand beneath her. “What was that for?” she sputtered.

Amethyst opened and closed her mouth like a fish. “We were about to get caught.” Then she remembered by whom. “We were about to get caught by a Diamond.” Amethyst got to her knees, chuckling. She slapped the sand off her back.

“That’s stupid. Why would they let a Diamond here?”

“Beats me.” Amethyst stopped, then started laughing. “Any idea how great this is, though?”

Ruby grabbed Amethyst’s shoulders and shook her. “Quiet down! And what?”

“A Diamond is staying here,” she started, the grin widening even further. “Meaning…”

Realization dawned on Ruby’s face. She started laughing too. “This is going to be such a good raid… Any idea how much stuff we’ll get?”

“Exactly!” She slapped Ruby’s shoulder. “Come on, let’s get this party started.” She cracked her knuckles and loosened her body. She felt herself shrink, turning into a cat. She winked at Ruby before opening the door and scoping the place out.

The room was empty in the sense nobody was there. She grinned at the loot that was inside the first room alone. Cushions for her room, that was definitely something. She found herself lingering longer than she should have, her claws instinctively scratching into   
the carpet floor. She blinked then stepped out onto the porch. “It’s clear. A bit creaky, though, Rube.”

She shifted back into her usual form and scratched her short hair. She walked in on her toes, watching all the halls. Still empty. “Be careful,” she whispered at Ruby. “The Diamond’s still awake.”

That stopped Ruby in her tracks for a moment as she stared out into space. Her fists clenched, and Amethyst put a hand on her shoulders. “It just means we’ll be quiet, right?”

Ruby turned around, her teeth clenched. “I just remembered something,” she said. “Let’s… let’s just get this over with.” She pulled herself away from Amethyst and started at a cupboard with seashells all along it. She opened it quietly and piled a few in there.

“When we get back, we can… I dunno… do something with them, I guess,” Ruby said, holding them in one hand. She closed the cupboard. “Aren’t you grabbing anything?”

“Of course,” Amethyst said, then noticed the angry expression on her face. She decided just to let her vent it quietly, before she burnt the place down. She reached for those pillows on the couch, bunching them in her arms. She noticed something hanging from the wall in the hallway to the right of her.

Her eyes traced it for a moment before she saw something just beside it. A sword cabinet. They were bright silver, reflecting anything in front of it. Amethyst tapped at the lock over its edge and growled to herself. She pulled her weapon out with a flash, stopped to check for anyone, and used one of its thorns to pick the lock.

It gave a click, and she pulled the cupboard open. Ruby’d like this. More so, Amethyst would like it if Ruby learned sword-fighting over randomly punching things. She glanced at Ruby and a smile cracked on her face. She crept up away from the hall. She knelt down and poked Ruby’s shoulder. 

Ruby turned around and Amethyst held the sword up. “To my lady,” she said cheekily.

Ruby blushed furiously and grabbed it. “Wow,” she said. “I might actually try using this one,” she said, lifting it by the blade. “Thank…” Ruby looked up and all the colour drained from her face. “Ammy,” she said.

Amethyst turned around and stood up, but stopped with her knees still bent. In front of her was a Sapphire. This was the first one she’d ever seen. She gulped. The Sapphire gasped. She raised her gloved hand to her mouth slowly.

“Ruby!” she hissed. “Ruby, do something!” She started backing away, and heard Ruby’s sword clatter to the ground.

“What? What can I do?” she said.

Amethyst felt panic welling in her. This was the first time they’d been caught mid-raid.

“I-I don’t know,” she said, starting to turn. Then she ran. She dropped everything she had, her weapon disappearing in the same flash it came. She swore at herself. How could she have been so stupid? 

She bolted up the stairs, noticing the blue light from the window was dimming and switched. No. No. No-no-no-no-no-no. Ruby, please be running, she hoped. Please. She stopped at the top of the hill and turned around. There was Ruby, just starting her climb up the stairs. Thank the stars. “I’ll be back home!” she shouted.

No response. Amethyst’s shoulders tensed, but loosened when she remembered it was still Ruby, and she was still coming up.

She kept running. The grass got longer, whipping at her face until it cleared out after what felt like forever. It cleared out, revealing a steep incline into a canyon.

The abandoned kindergarten stretched out before her, and Amethyst breathed a sigh of relief. Running to the nearest hole, she slumped down in it and waited for Ruby.

She heard laboured sighs and stiffened. She risked a glance out the hole and saw the dark red silhouette of Ruby.

Then another one held in Ruby’s grasp. It was dark blue in the moonlight. “What?” she hissed to herself. “Ruby? What is this?” She crawled out of the hole and ran to Ruby. “What on Earth?”

She glanced at the silhouette and stiffened in anger and fear. “Oh no…” she whispered, pulling a lock of her hair. “Ruby, how could you?”

“I didn’t know what else to do!” he shouted, desperation in her voice.

“Poof her!” Amethyst shouted.

“Ex-Excuse me…” a voice said, deep and calm. The two Gems turned around to face the silhouette. “Why—Why am I here?”

Amethyst’s skin prickled again. How had Ruby done this? 

Why had she kidnapped a Sapphire?


	6. Chapter 6

Greg opened the door out of what he assumed to be the servants’ quarters, and found himself looking for a room to wash his clothing. He already checked the hallway he was in at sunset yesterday, but there weren’t any laundry rooms near. It was like gems never changed. 

Greg stepped down the hallway, his feet dragging on the floor. “Sure, they don’t,” he grumbled, “But we do.” 

His grumblings stopped the second he reached the foyer. He stumbled when he reached for a sword cupboard’s glass front. His hand fell in the empty space where it should’ve been. “What the—” He glanced up and saw exactly what happened. The entire place looked ransacked. The other door for the cupboard swung wide open, and Greg clearly saw a sword had been lifted from its hooks. He looked down and the lock that was on it just yesterday had fallen to the carpet. “Oh my god,” he whispered.

He then noticed the scratches in the carpet, and torn off strings of it laying on the floor. He paced around it, heart racing faster and faster. A struggle? Somebody’d been kidnapped.

Other humans had been kidnapped before, presumably to be “retired,” but he’d never assumed it could happen to a Gem, too. The couch looked completely empty, stripped of its cushions. He shuddered. Were they still here?

He glanced around and heard shuffling. Greg’s heart stopped for a split second, and he glanced at the rafters from where it came. Dead silence. He paced backwards, then ran down the hall where the leader of the Gems, Pink Diamond, was.

He knocked on the door as politely as he could manage, but it still came out rapid and worried.

The door swung open and Greg stared straight in the Gem’s face. “Ma’am,” he said, “There’s something wrong.” He took a deep breath, ready to explain all he could. “I went down the hall and then in the foyer. There were thieves. In the middle of the night! And they took someone!”

He noticed the worry rising on her face and Greg felt his stomach churn. The Gem gave him a withering glance, but nodded serenely. “Get the other Gems,” she said. “If someone doesn’t reply, report to me immediately.” Her shoulders heaved. “Now, go, human.”

Greg nodded, his memories about where the Gems were all staying in flickering in his mind. He first ran down to the end of the hall. This was where the Quartz was staying. He rapped on the door, waiting for it to open up. It did, revealing a tall gem with cool brown skin. Tiger’s Eye, he remembered. “Tiger’s Eye? Pink Diamond — she’s getting everyone assembled.”

The Gem nodded, and she pushed Greg out of the way. He was winded as he fell into the wall, but the Gem was already stomping away.

Greg coughed and got onto his knees. “Geez,” he grumbled. He got to his feet, instinctively brushing them off, but no dust came off.

He remembered wha the had to do and ran across the foyer and into the other hall. He knocked on the first door. “Excuse me!” He started knocking harder before it was opened just a crack.

“It’s you,” the Peridot said. “The human.”

Greg felt his face flush. “Yeah, it’s me. Can you open the door a bit more? It’s something important.”

The door was opened enough so that her face was visible. “How important?”

“Look,” Greg said, pushing the door further open. “Pink Diamond wants you in the foyer. Something’s gone wrong overnight and we need to take attendance.”

She sighed and opened it fully. Her fingers retracted into her palms, and she slipped out without even giving Greg so much as a second glance.

“Humans,” she muttered, before turning into the Foyer.

Greg sighed and continued down the hall. He met another door, trying to remember if it was the Sapphire or the Pearl’s door.

There was a second before it was the Pearl that opened up. She looked up, but when she didn’t find anything, glanced at Greg. “Oh!” she said, but then narrowed her eyes. “It’s you.”

Greg nodded. “Look. I’m not going to tell anyone,” he said. “You know, about the—”

“I know exactly what about. Now, why’re you here?” she snapped.

“Pink Diamond wants you. Something went wrong. Go to the foyer.”

She nodded but cast a shady stare at Greg. “I’ll be right there.”

She wasn’t. Greg noticed that she stood, waiting for him to move along. He nodded and went to the last door in the hall. He looked behind him, watching Pearl scurry down the halls. For a smart Pearl, she acted pretty much like all of them.

The Sapphire’s door, he remembered, tapping on it quietly. No response. Maybe she was like the Peridot, who wouldn’t open the door after a while. He seethed under his teeth and knocked harder.

Still no response. Greg felt the hairs on his arms rising. “Miss Sapphire?” he asked, knocking harder.

Again, the other side of the door was quiet. Greg turned slowly, stagnating a second in case she’d open it. She didn’t. Greg’s shoulders weighted, wondering what would happen to him if he had to say that the Sapphire was gone. He’d probably be drawn and quartered, at least in the Gem sense.

He ran into the foyer and saw four Gems lined up. They cast him a quick glance before turning back to Pink Diamond. The Pearl glared for a moment, but did the same.

“Gregory,” the pink Gem said. “Where’s the Sapphire?”

Greg tugged at his shirt sleeves, averting his gaze from the Diamond’s. “The Sapphire, she didn’t respond.” He lowered his gaze enough to watch his shoes. “I think she’s gone.”


	7. Chapter 7

Amethyst glowered at the blue Gem, Sapphire. She was done having her around. It was nearly mid-day by now, and all she had done was freeze up the place. Then Ruby was there to melt it all. What resulted was dry air and water flowing down the kindergarten like a river.

She watched as Ruby, who’d generally been as distant as Amethyst was, stepped closer to her. She sat down, and Amethyst noticed the uncomfortable expression on her face as she melted the ice beneath her. “So,” she began, glancing behind her.

“What do you want?” Sapphire asked.

“I just want to show you something—”

“Like how much things you’ve stolen from innocent Gems?” Ice spiked up around Ruby and Amethyst reached for the gem on her chest.

“No, no, no, it’s nothing like that.” She reached behind her and pulled out a handful of seashells. “It’s a game.”

Amethyst’s shoulders heaved. Of course. Amethyst usually wouldn’t have cared if Ruby was using Amethyst’s stuff, but when the only thing that Ruby contributed to their home was an annoying, snooty Gem that made even breathing uncomfortable, she got a little peeved. The best thing Ruby could do at the time would be to put her back where she belonged.

Still, she watched as Ruby put the shells down in a line. She scraped the dirt below her and pulled up a rock. She put it under the centre shell and then looked up at Sapphire. “Do you know which one the rock’s under?”

Without a beat, she responded, “The middle one.”

“Alright. Watch it. I’ll be shuffling them around.” Ruby did, and for a few minutes Amethyst watched the shells. Ruby must’ve been playing easy, because she didn’t move the pebble into a different shell.

Ruby ended the shuffling and then lifted her hands. She might’ve took it into her hand at the last second. “Where is it now?”

“The one to the right.”

Amethyst laughed to herself. Ruby never even had the pebble there in the end. And if it was, she bet it was still in the middle.

“Alright then,” Ruby said, then opened the shell. In fact, the pebble was sitting right there. Amethyst gaped, and glanced at Ruby to meet her gaze.

“What? You’ve got to be playing easy,” she said, walking closer into the hole.

“No!” She raised her hands in the direction of Sapphire. “I swear by the stars, I’m not.” Ruby looked at Sapphire. “Well, you’ve won. Want to try again?”

She shrugged. “Nothing says I shouldn’t.” Amethyst blinked at the odd statement, but waited for Ruby to do her thing.

She shuffled quicker this time, and Amethyst caught the glint of the pebble falling to the ground.

Ruby stopped a few shuffles later.

The ice around Sapphire fell away as she answered quickly. “You threw it on the floor to fool me.”

Ruby hesitated, then blushed a fiery red. She lifted up all three shells. “Yeah, you’ve got it.”

Amethyst saw the corners of Sapphire’s mouth twitch, and she turned her head up. “Another round?” The ice melted away and pooled at the centre of the hole.

“Sure,” Ruby said, turning around. She heard the scoop of dirt and then it falling to the ground. So she was using three pebbles now, just to mess with her. “So you really get a kick out of this game…”

There was silence as she nodded. “It takes my mind off things.”

“Alright then.” Ruby placed the pebbles in the shells before turning back. “Now, let’s go.”

She shuffled fast enough that Amethyst could barely see her hands going. She went for a full minute, and Amethyst noticed the water falling away from the de-iced dirt walls. She chuckled to herself, and saw Ruby had stopped.

If there weren’t all three pebbles in there, Amethyst wouldn’t have given up. “Guess which one now,” Ruby said smugly.

“All of them.” Nearly all the ice fell away as Ruby flared up.

“What?” she asked. Amethyst stole a glance behind her to the kindergarten. That was louder than she’d have liked. “How do you know?”

Ruby turned to Amethyst, who shrugged. How was she supposed to know?

Recognition dawned on Ruby’s face. “You know, back before we were retired from the service, the other Rubies talked about Gems that could see the future.” She chuckled loudly. “Oh man, the jokes I’ve heard about those Gems.” She quieted down at an angry glare from Amethyst. “Well, either way. Are you one of them?”

Ice crept up around Sapphire, freezing the stream. “I don’t want to say.”

So she was. _Wonderful_. Amethyst’s hair started to raise on end. “Well, are you important?”

“I don’t want to say.” Ice spiked up from the patches around her in sharp spikes, and Ruby hopped out of the way.

She put her hand on the spikes, smoothing them down. “It’s alright.” She turned to Amethyst and then back to Sapphire. “Should we leave?”

There was no sound as frost crept into her lighter blue hair. Ruby put a hand, melting some of the frost, and walked to Amethyst. “We should go.”

Amethyst nodded. About time. Just as she turned, she was stopped by Sapphire’s voice. “I actually have something to tell you.”

Amethyst sighed. “What?” she hissed, but stopped herself as Ruby threw a not-so-subtle growl at her.

“Well, I _am_ one of those gems. The psychic ones.” She turned away.

_Like we didn’t know._ She stepped closer. “That’s it? You’re psychic, so what?”

Ruby turned back to Amethyst and narrowed her eyes. She sat down on the ice and turned to Sapphire. “We aren’t bugged by cheating at the shell game.”

Ice spiked up. “You think I care about the shell game?” she wailed. “They’re looking for us right now, and when they find us, it isn’t going to be pretty.”

Amethyst watched as the centre of her face wettened, then dried. What in the…?

“For you or us?” Amethyst asked, leaning against the wall.

What she didn’t expect was Sapphire looking up and pulling her bangs out of her face. One eye stared up at her. “Both.”

***

Amethyst leaned into Ruby, thinking of the doom the other Gems might as well have been. Oh, this was all their faults. Her shoulders tensed. Ruby should have poofed Sapphire and been done with it. But no.

She got off of Ruby’s shoulder and sat up tall. “So we should hide.”

Sapphire nodded. “That way, there’s a chance they won’t find us.”

Amethyst nodded, clawing scratches into the dirt. “Can’t you tell us any more than that?”

“The future’s a shaky thing. And around you,” she sighed. “It just blurs even more.” She put her gloved hand down, and Ruby took it.

“You did the best you can. When do they come?”

Sapphire smiled, ice falling away from her. Amethyst saw flames crackling at Ruby’s feet and she growled internally.

“They come tonight.”

Amethyst scratched her hair. “You think that we’d survive anyways?”

Ruby glanced at Sapphire before Amethyst. “Of course we would. Why wouldn’t we?”


	8. Chapter 8

Pearl ducked her head out over the kindergarten’s edge, yet again. One hand was placed over the sword hanging at her side. Course she didn’t know how to use it.

She noticed how the kindergarten was a mess. Holes that once held gems were capsized, and the few holes that still survived looked like they’d been dug out by small animals.

Maybe that was just the light though.

Pearl barely discerned a bed of mud at the centre the canyon’s bottom. How on Homeworld would that have gotten there? Technicians wouldn’t have put a kindergarten on top of an underground lake, would they? Of course they wouldn’t. Pearl growled at herself and slammed her fist on the cliff’s edge, sending rocks tumbling to the bottom. What was she supposed to be looking for? All she knew was that the Sapphire was gone. Should she be watching out for ice patches and Sapphire tied up on a stake?

She sighed and looked behind her to see how Peridot was doing. She was crouching on the ground, arms to the ground. She noticed a vibration in the ground. Peridot’s face lit up only to fall after a few seconds. Dammit. Pearl turned back to watch the gorge again.

Wait a second.

Pearl double-checked to realize that the Tiger’s Eye and Rose weren’t there any more.

She turned back to the kindergarten, looking for them now. It was then that she noticed the shadows creeping against the wall. She noticed Rose striding through the kindergarten, the Tiger’s Eye in front of her.

She watched as Tiger’s Eye kicked a rock out of the way, and heard it crash against the kindergarten’s far wall.

Right beneath her, she heard a strangled gasp. Pearl straightened out a the sound and looked down. Tiger’s Eye exchanged glances with Rose and dug a massive hand in the ground. Pearl backed away from the cliff’s edge. She came up with a small boulder, and hurled it at thewall Pearl was over. The edge fell away in clumps of dead grass, and Pearl hopped back.

“Ouch!” someone whispered.

Ouch? Pearl stood up and turned to the Peridot. “Try another pulse, I think I’ve got something.”

Peridot glared, but sighed as she stuck her conical arm in the grass. Pearl felt a deep vibration, then heard scuffs of feet. Was that a Gem? An animal?

“Aha!” the Peridot shouted. Pearl stiffened and ran towards her.

“What’s ‘Aha?’” she asked, looking down at the Gem on the ground.

“Not telling you. Go back and keep watch, _Pearl._ ” She glanced up, the moonlight making it impossible to see her eyes through her visor.

“Excuse me, but I need to tell Pink Diamond.” She paused and tried to add a bit more authority in her voice as she said, “Now.”

She rolled her eyes and threw a withering glare her way. “Well, If your Pearl-esque little mind needs to know, there are three figures in the cave. One looks… Ruby-ish… and I have _no idea_ what the other one is. But there’s Sapphire in there.”

Pearl stood for a few seconds, trying to process the information. That meant there were two Gems other than the Sapphire.

“A human child, maybe — Ack! They’ve stopped moving!”

Two kidnappers. Pearl shuddered at another thought. Two threats. Not to mention that one of those was supposedly a Ruby, a race of guard Gems that had all been shattered when Quartzes emerged to replace them. If she could survive that, then what was that Gem capable of?

“Move along, won’t you?” Another pulse went through the ground. “Tell Pink Diamond, like you wanted to.” Peridot glared at a screen coming from her other arm, and her face lit up. “Yes! Back to moving!”

Pearl nodded, stepping away to the edge of the cliff. Her eyes traced the gorge’s edge, and how the ramp leading down to the kindergarten was a far distance away. She needed a faster way to get down. She looked down. There was a ledge a few feet down. It was in front of a hole, in case she should check in there.

She glanced back at Peridot, watching her expectantly. She hissed to herself and looked at the ledge again. Okay, so maybe it was a bit more than a few feet. She could still hop on down there and get to Rose far faster. In a choice of the safest or safe but faster way, she chose the latter.

She sat down to dangle her legs over the edge. She stretched her right leg down the wall, attempting to reach it. Not close enough. She narrowed her eyes, and put her weight onto her arms as she could get her body just that foot more. Still not close enough.

She bit her lip. The muscles in her arms were starting to hurt. As her hands started slipping, she growled to herself. She’d have to let go.

So she did.

She fell down, exactly on the ledge. Feet already falling out from beneath her, she spun to grab at the wall.

Her hands clawed at the hole’s edge, but the dirt crumbled away as she grabbed it. She fell backwards and had to force all her weight onto the ledge. She just barely grabbed it.

Another strangled gasp.

Pearl’s gaze snapped to the hole. The glimmer of eyes stared back at her in red and purple shock, but in blue fear. Her grasp weakened.

All it took was just one second for her to lose her grip. Dirt fell away in clods of dead grass and soil, removing Pearl’s hands from the ledge entirely.

Slipping. She felt wind blast through her clothing. The cliff-top fell further and further away. Her back smashed against a jutting rock, sending jolts of pain through her. Her sword lost its weight and clattered to the ground.

A second later, she herself hit the kindergarten’s bottom.

She groaned, trying to stand up. Wobbling to her feet, she became aware of the hole in her abdomen, and the throb in her shoulders. She caught sight of rose and struggled to regain composure. “My Diamond,” she began.

Rose stared at her, the Tiger’s Eye mirroring her expression.

She felt a surge of pride and fear at the whiteness at the periphery of her vision. “I found them.”

Dazedly, she pointed to the ledge she fell from. The glow nearly covered her vision, and she could only see dim silhouettes. She barely felt her legs give way beneath her and she crumpled to the ground. Finally, the whiteness took over.

***

Rose stared in disbelief at the white gemstone laying in the dirt. Pearl’d never done that before.

“Least she isn’t cracked,” the Tiger’s Eye said.

“I could tell that.” Oh Pearl. Her stupid sweet Pearl. Why couldn’t she have just walked? She stepped closer to the stone and knelt down in front of it. It was strange, seeing how a being full of life could just turn into a near-dead rock.

Rose stared up at the sky. Now she remembered why she wanted Earth to stay Earth. Because a planet so vibrant could have easily died. She looked at the kindergarten around her. If the diamonds didn’t compromise for her, then it certainly would be just as dead as the kindergarten.

Just like Pearl looked. A tear threatened to fall down her cheek, and she picked up Pearl’s gem. She rubbed the dirty gemstone against the edge of her eye, smudging her face with black soil. She held Pearl’s gem in front of her chest, and watched it already start to glow. Rose laid the gemstone on the canyon’s floor, watching it glow. The gem turned to light and lifted feet off the ground, Pearl’s lithe figure already growing from it. Hair sprouted from the bright head. Her translucent skit flared out, stopping just before her toes. The glow faded, and Pearl’s pale skin was now visible. Her eyes opened, and she fell to the ground. She stared up at Rose and got to her feet. Rose’s lips parted in a smile.

“Ro — My Diamond!” Pearl said, hopping to her feet.

Rose tried to hide the wince when Pearl addressed her by her real name. “It’s good to see you again, Pearl.” She put her hands on Pearl’s shoulder, and she noticed Pearl’s posture straighten.

“You too.”

They stood in silence before Rose realized the Tiger’s Eye’s gaze on them both. She forced her smile down and turned Pearl towards her. “Where did you say they were?”

Pearl nodded. “They’re up in the cave. Three Gems. They might be gone now, though.”

Rose turned to Tiger’s Eye. “Go get Peridot.”

“I’m on it.” She ran to the wall in a chestnut-haired flash and leaped against the wall. She pulled her hands in about halfway up, and scaled it quickly. “Peridot, get down here! We’ve found them.”

The Quartz stood on the cliff before the Peridot came to the edge. She picked the green gem up and jumped.

She descended near-immediately, and she fell to the ground almost gracefully. She unbent her knees and put the Peridot on the ground. “So what’s the battle plan?” she asked, cracking her knuckles.

Rose looked up at the cliff then turned to Tiger’s Eye. “You and I will scale the cliff.” She turned to Peridot. “If we don’t get them taken care of, you and Pearl will take care of them on the ground. And Peridot, don’t use your arm cannons until you really need to. Understood?”

She nodded.

“Good. Now, let’s go.” She motioned to Tiger’s Eye and ran to the wall. She leaped, and kicked her legs out. She grabbed a foothold and clawed into the wall. She pushed off with her powerful legs, her dress dragging the dirt on the wall. She jumped to another ledge, half-way to the top, and her eyes caught on the ledge Pearl fell from.

She looked into the shadow of the hole and realized it was lager than any normal Quartz’ hole. The floor was smooth from years of use. Unlike the other holes, it was clean. Not a single pebble dotted its edge. She stared for a moment, before motioning to Tiger’s Eye to stay quiet. If there were gems in there, she’d be able to hear them.

She put her left hand to her gemstone as she leaped onto the ledge. She saw nothing, but ventured a quick lie. “You’re breaking several Gem laws, near all of which are punishable by shattering.” She clasped her finger over her gem, hiding its glow. “We’ll pardon you if you leave our Sapphire unharmed.” She certainly wouldn’t _pardon_ them, but if the Sapphire was safe, she’d give them a less severe punishment.

There was silence, and Rose caught the glimmer of one, two pairs of eyes.

“Liar,” someone whispered. She saw a flash of light. Rose summoned her shield seconds before something smashed into her. She held her ground, instead pushing her assailant away in front of her.

“Tiger’s Eye!” she shouted, holding her shield high in case the Gem decided it’d be a good time to attack.

She heard rocks falling as Tiger’s Eye clambered up the cliff wall. Rose felt another fist land against her shield. She grunted to push away the attacker. She put her effort into the ground below her, willing plants to come out of it. None came. She growled, trying to get more out of the ground. This place was dead.

Instead, she decided to just operate off her Gem’s glow. She swung her shield, hoping to catch one of the Gems’ heads. As her shield nearly collided with a familiar blue-haired head, she stopped. “Sapphire,” she hissed as she threw her shield back. It collided with another Gem, and she heard her fly into the cave wall. “Get out of here!” She twisted, using only her gem’s glow to operate. She watched Sapphire run beneath her shield and slide out the cave ledge.

Rose’s eyes settled on the first attacker. She almost looked like… a Ruby? “Betrayer!” she heard the Ruby whisper.

Rose started for a moment. Sapphire trusting these Gems, or even promising anything to them? No. She dug her toes into the ground, hoping to will up plants. None came. She tried harder, but had to keep her eye out for the other Gems. Again, the plants didn’t come. Was the soil in the kindergarten this dead? She dug her toes deeper, trying to muster something up. Nothing again. She pushed her shield up, feeling the give as someone flew backwards.

The Tiger’s eye waited at the edge of the cave, eyes wide. She held a summoned morning star.

“What’re you doing?” Rose growled. She was almost going to stop the other Quartz, but realized that nothing could entangle her.

“Watching for—” She stopped and ran into the cave. She swung her weapon and there was a gasp. A flash of light, and then a gem clattered to the ground. “Got the Ruby. But the Sapphire says there’s another.”

“What?” Rose looked in front of her, seeing nothing.

“I don’t see her though,” Tiger’s Eye said, turning out of the cave. “She might have run away.”

Rose shook her head, but then stopped. Or the Sapphire could have lied, given what the Ruby shouted at her as she left.

“You might be right,” she said. The Tiger’s Eye turned, and then she saw the purple glow. Rose grabbed her shield. “Dodge!” Tiger’s Eye did move as the Gem ran at them. She leaped, hitting nothing. Rose saw her chance then. She pushed her shield out, watching as she fell straight off the cliff. There was another blast of light, and then nothing.

She grabbed the Ruby’s gemstone off of the ground, brushing a bit of dust from it.

“My Diamond,” Tiger’s Eye said. “You aren’t going to be crying for this _traitor,_ are you?

Rose shook her head. “We just need to keep her prisoner.” She summoned a bubble over it. She held her hands out as she stood at the edge. “And thank you for poofing this Ruby.”

She leaped down the ledge, levitating just before she hit the ground. She dropped the final foot, making sure not to land on the other, unidentified Gem.

She picked it up and put into another bubble. “That’s all of them. We did well. Peridot, you found them. Sapphire, you informed us of the second one. And Tiger’s Eye, you neutralized the Ruby.” She almost mentioned Pearl, but remembered the Peridot’s reaction to Pearl. She decided not to say nothing, but her heart sank at the hard stare from her.

“But I have a problem with your… ethics, Sapphire?” She turned to the blue Gem and noticed her lighter hair rising. Ice trickled at the ground beside her.

“The Ruby called you a betrayer before you left the cave. Do you have any explanation for that?” She fixed a cold glare on her.

The Sapphire stepped away. “I — I didn’t do anything, my Diamond.”

She narrowed her gaze. “I think that isn’t the case.” She drew her shield again, letting the Ruby’s bubble float in the air. She cast glances to the other Gems. Tiger’s Eye was nonplussed. Peridot didn’t seem like she could care less. Her eyes rested on Pearl, and her gaze dropped. She looked terrified. Her hands were working furiously on her veil, and she was watching Rose intently. _Don’t._ That’s what she was saying.

Rose didn’t want to kill a possibly valuable diplomat, anyways.

She stared down at Sapphire. She looked terrified, like a Pearl who was about to be shattered.

Rose let her shield go, and it faded out of existence. “Well, if you want to be around these Gems so much, it’ll be your job to guard them. You’ll alert me when they reform. Understood?”

The Sapphire dropped her hands from their tense position. “Yes, my Diamond. Th-Thank you.”

Rose didn’t respond, staring her down. “Back to the estate, Gems.”

They nodded and followed nervously behind as Rose headed to the kindergarten’s exit.


End file.
